After, as what you may have gathered, was a stressful fortnight last time this week has been about taking some time to prioritise and regroup.

Submitting my coursework was weirdly nerve wracking! It’s funny because all the hard work was done and it became simply about pressing print and posting the essay through a little slot into a box…how hard could it be?! Yet, it was also one of the most satisfying moments – I’ve actually completed a university essay, eek! The work doesn’t stop there though! I’m still to craft a history essay on the role of the medieval clergy, but hopefully I’ll get that same sense of satisfaction!

It’s reached a time for reflection, and I don’t mean it in the sense of a plenary or that horrible task of evaluating what we’ve done. Just taking the time to think that there are better things to be doing here at uni than worrying…(I have literally just laughed at myself for writing that, because I know that I will, along with many other students, continue to worry about my work while I’m here!) However, there definitely are better things to be doing than worrying all the time. I have been sitting at my desk for hours thinking ‘HELP!’, but this week with my coursework submitted it’s clear that nothing is impossible. Upon reflection, I think it’s about setting aside time slots for working, eating, socialising and sleeping (!) – It’s easy to sit behind this computer screen and say that that’s exactly what I’m going to adopt from now on, but, of course, I know that this simply isn’t the case – but I have realised that I do need to take time to make sure I am doing all these things in a better proportion than I have been over the last fortnight!

Reflection often comes at the end of a task, so I look forward to beginning a new one! This week in two of my subjects, History and Philosophy, we have started to look at a new topic area! It’s been really thought-provoking to see how differently lecturers handle the material and take the classes and it’s really stimulating to have to adapt to their style. I’m really enjoying the material so far. In history we’ve moved towards a period that I’m more interested in, possibly because the sources are more accessible, but it has been really interesting to see how things have developed and shaped in society due to the medieval period that I was studying beforehand – it’s aiding us to mould an appreciation for where we are now.

There has been a world beyond the lecture theatre and my desk this week though! My friends and I have started the search for a house, ready for second year (already, I know!). It’s like being on Location, Location, Location! Aside from the house hunt, one of my other highlights this week has to be that we had a house roast dinner on Sunday! I know it’s trivial to be telling you about what I’ve had for tea, but it was so lovely to sit down with a few of us having cooked! It was genuinely so, so lovely – I can’t quite express it, but if you’re thinking of coming to uni, having a housemate roast dinner should definitely be on your list of things to do in first year!

I hope you guys have all had a lovely week and that you enjoyed reading a slightly more chilled out post this time around!

History Hugs,

Eleanor :0)